St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-12-01
MORE PLAIN TALK ON THE STATE
REPUBLICAN NEWS AGENCY.

The article in the Caledonian two
weeks ago commenting on the action
of the state republican committee in
establishing sort of newspaper agen-
CIV has given rise to considerable dis
cussion. Below we give almost entire
the very sensible comments of the
BrattlebOrO Phoenix on the subject.
In passing we would say that the CAL
edonian had no desire to misjudge the
state committee in regard to their mo-
tives. The proposition was very cour-
teously made to the Caledonian and as
courteously declined. Were the state
committee to publish all the correspOn-
dence they have had with the republi-
can editors of the state it would not
only be exceedingly interesting read
ing but would also show that we vOic-
ed the sentiments of many of these ed
itOrs who felt that they could not af-
ford to oppose the committee. We
believe that had the republican editors
"held together" in this matter the
scheme might have been strangled in
it's infancy. But here is what the Brat
tlebOrO Phoenix has to say on the sub
ject:
A scheme of the republican state
committee to circulate outside republi-
can papers during next years CAM
paign, which was at first very properly
intended to be private and confidential,
has so far become a public matter that
there can now be no harm in abiding
to it without reserve. Its details are
correctly outlined i'm the St. JOhnsbury
CaledOniaD, with some pungent COM
ments by that paper.
We do not agree entirely with the
attitude and expressions of the CaledO-
nian, so far as it's comments on the
animus of the state committee in this
matter are concerned. We give the
committee credit for entirely good in
tentions i'm this matter; but we believe
that they have erred seriously in judg-
ment and Overstepped their prerOga-
tives in the OfficiOus action which they
have taken. We have freely and re-
peatedly told the chairman SO in cor
respondence with him on the subject.
We do not think it legitimate use of
the funds entrusted to the committee
to apply them to the introduction of
outside papers. Their action is a sug-
gestiOn that our Vermont voters re-
quire instruction from outside, and 1T
is a reflection on the republican press
of Vermont i'm that it assumes that our
party papers are not giving their read
ers proper and sufficient political in
structiOn.
But, further than this and more i'm
pOrtant than this, the scheme is one
which is opposed to the true interests
of the Vermont press, although it pro-
fesses to be, aud was undoubtedly in
tended to be, other wise. The plain,
indisputable fact is that every republic
can paper printed in Vermont today,
which gives the local news of its sec
ton and discusses intelligently state
and political affairs as they arise, is
worth every penny asked for 1T. 1t
costs more than 25 per cent. more to
produce The Vermont Phoenix today
than it did in 1880, and yet it is sold
for 25 per cent. less and no man in
whatever position has a right to as
sumo that we can discount 1863 per
cent. OH the price of the paper, for
whatever purpose. 1t cannot be sold
for one cent less than it's advertised
price, if it is to yield it's owners a liv
ing, to say nothing of giving them a
chance to save dollar against time
of need.
The real point at issue is that neith
er the republican state committee, the
party, nor the people OF
Vermont as a whole, can afford to have
done which interteres with
the local papers of the state and their
The outside papers may
be larger and may contain more gen.
eral news of Indifferent interest to
country readers but the country pa
pers are as essential to the life and
and we'll being of the state
as are the schools and the churches.
We know it will be said that this
scheme was not intended to hurt the
local papers, but to help them, and
that many such papers jumped at the
chance to make the low combination
rate. For answer we say that those
publishers who have gone into the
scheme have made q mistake. No
good business man can afford to make
an offer this year that he cannot du-
plicate next year. Next year there
and no reduction beyond a possible
ten per cent will be offered on the out
side papers. Subscribers who take the |
papers at the reduced rate this year
will ask for it next year, and when re-
fused they will be disappointed, if not
indignant, and the publisher will feel
like kicking himself for a fool. We
long ago found that it does not pay to
go into the chrome business, whatever
form the chrome may take. For sew
eral years we have offered All advan-
tageOus club rate with paper of ad-
scope in agricultural matters
and staunchly republican in it's poll
tics, but we have never made a cent
on this or any other club paper, but |
have furnished it at exactly it's cost to
us. We offered to take the state COM
mittee's papers on precisely the same
basis, charging for them exactly their
cost to us, but making no reduction in
the price of the Phoenix. That offer
is still open to the committee, but has
not yet been accepted.
Probably the committee, when they
went into the newspaper business, did
not reflect upon the fact that by their
scheme they are simply trying to put
outside republican papers into the
hands of voters who are already re-
publicans and take local republican
paper. If they had tried to put the
outside papers into the hands of men
who are not republicans, or who did
not see republican papers, the case
would be very different. What the
committee will find in the end will be,
that, while thew have distributed few